Personal correspondence has been viewed by scholars as an importantcontribution to the understanding of key historical figures andintellectual movements for centuries. But with the rise of socialhistory over the course of the last one hundred years, letters havebecome instrumental in the exploration of "the lives of the poor andpowerless in society".[1] More recently, an academic tug-of-war hasensued as scholars attempt to determine exactly where the boundaries ofthe genre lie. Much of the debate centers around Feldpost letters fromWorld Wars I and II, which may be able to provide insight into a periodof history with which society still struggles to comprehend. "Schreibenim Krieg, Schreiben vom Krieg" is a compilation of essays exploring awide variety of topics related to Feldpost letters from the First andSecond World Wars. The topics range from the importance of studyingletters, to the unique challenges they present, to what can be learnedfrom their content; each author has his or her own ideas about where andhow Feldpost letters fit into current research and themes in modernEuropean history. Although the edition hardly offers a consensus amongacademics as to how exactly wartime letters can or should be bestinterpreted, many of the ideas it presents complement one another, whilestill others offer different perspectives or even contradictions. Thescope of the material and the sheer wealth of information the editioncontains insure that it is a gold mine for scholars interested in themany applications of Feldpost letters in the field of modern history.

The overall purpose of the edition is to highlight the increasedusefulness of Feldpost letters to modern research as access toeyewitnesses dwindles (p. 12). The greater purpose, however, extendsbeyond their meaning to research and into their meaning to humanity: "Obwir aus der Geschichte lernen, hängt maßgeblich von unseremverantwortungsbewussten Umgang mit ihr ab" (p. 12). The book begins withseveral essays on the history of Feldpost in Germany and is then dividedthematically into five major sections: theoretical questions,international perspectives, gender-specific writing, Feldpost inliterature, art and media, and, fifth and finally, practicalillustrations and case studies. Each section contains between five andtwelve essays that explore themes such as Feldpost letters as objects ofpublic reflection or the wartime experience of German soldiers stationedin France during World War II (p. 383, 511).

Many contributors focus on the important role Feldpost can play inmodern historical research in spite of the challenges the genrepresents. Michaela Kipp identifies Feldpost as a rich and irreplaceablesupply of commentary on soldiers' perceptions of world, situation, andself (p. 458). Using the letters of two German soldiers stationed in theSoviet Union, Kipp demonstrates that the systematic evaluation ofFeldpost letters can in fact shed more light on the psyche of the Germansoldier, and in turn help answer the larger questions surroundingresearch on national socialism. In his article on Feldpost andnarration, Christian Heuer discusses Feldpost letters' relevantfunctions as Ego-Dokumente in historical didactics, including acting assources of information on everyday routines at the front and at home,the mental and physical impact the war has on individuals, andlinguistic patterns of interpretation. He views letters as documents ofcommunicative and cultural memory and as sources of the retrospectivehistory of certain groups and communities (p. 66). However, he placesemphasis on the fact that letters do not necessarily provide insightinto the "reality" of the past, but rather into the way that historicalsubjects construct their own narrative identities (p. 72). Ingo Staderemphasizes the importance of Feldpost letters from World War II indetermining the effectiveness of the Nazi propaganda campaign (ratherthan any "real" insight they may offer into the wartime experience oftheir writers), drawing a comparison between Feldpost and modern socialmedia.

Elke Scherstjanoi takes a critical stance on the genre of Feldpost,delving deep into the genre's limitations with references to thepublished World War II letters of Heinrich Böll. She raises a crucialpoint when she reminds the readers that Feldpost research should avoidtaking the polarized "perpetrator-victim" point of view (p. 119). Such aview accomplishes little and fails to answer key questions, such as whythe writer shares specific information with the recipient, what he orshe may have consciously omitted, or what kind of function the exchangeof letters played in society (p. 124). She cautions strongly against theoverestimation of Feldpost as a genre: "Feldpostforschung kommt ohneandere Quellen, darunter andere subjektive (Tagebücher, Berichte,Erinnerungen), und ohne strengste Quellenkritik nicht aus" (p. 122).

In spite of the challenges they face when working with Feldpost letters,most contributors to the edition choose to focus on what can be learnedfrom them, rather than what cannot. The objectives, approaches andultimate findings of the authors vary considerably; for example, anessay on Feldpost as a medium of social communication by ClemensSchwender presents a case study that uses letters to investigate thepsychology of gossip (p. 127). He tests his thesis using the nearly twothousand items of correspondence between a husband and wife from WorldWar II, identifying the material as authentic insight into the mood ofthe couple (p. 131). From a methodological standpoint, Schwender'scontribution is outstanding, as it provides a detailed explanation ofhis process of random sampling, including corresponding data tables (p.132). Other popular topics in the study of military history are includedin this edition, including articles on the experience of the "foreign"as well as war as an adventure or positive experience as reflected insoldiers' letters (p. 178). Kerstin Wölki focuses on letters written byGerman soldiers stationed in France during the Second World War andexplores the idea that many behaved as if on vacation, as they wereneither at home or completely integrated into their new surroundings (p.519). Her essay provides valuable new information to this area ofresearch and draws not only upon Feldpost letters but also diaryentries, demonstrating the close relationship between these two types ofprimary sources.

Another new addition to the current study of Feldpost is Youth at War, abilingual edition of preserved letters written by a fifteen year old boywhose childhood was cut short by Germany's need for more manpower inWorld War II. The editor, Ruth I. Cape, examines the letters ashistorical sources and bases her interpretations of them on thebiography of their writer, Gerhard G. Gerhard served in the war from1943 to 1945, first as a member of the student anti-aircraft artillery,then in the compulsory national labor service (R.A.D.), and finally inthe German navy on the pocket battleship Admiral Scheer. In 1945, hespent three months in an American prisoner of war camp and then returnedto his home of Bühl, which was located in the French-occupied war zone.The one hundred and forty letters were found in his home shortly beforehis death in May of 2008, tied neatly together and arrangedchronologically.

That their author is so young and that almost every letter he wrote homewas preserved make the letters particularly unique. By publishing theedition, Cape attempts to "provide a close and, in many respects,unfiltered look at a specific historical and social environment" (p. 3).Whether or not a collection of letters can actually accomplish such atask is open to debate, a fact which Cape herself recognizes:"Obviously, they cannot be interpreted as an objective and completedescription of war reality. Rather, they are selective and a mixture ofwar experiences, rumors he might have heard, his assumptions aboutfuture events, and conscious or unconscious omissions" (p. 17). But evenwhile taking such limitations into consideration, she refutes theposition that Gerhard's letters merely represent letter-writingconventions of the times, instead stating that, "in their frankness theypresent an abundance of information, genuine human feelings, concerns,and hopes that allow the reader to look into the heart and mind of thisboy, who might very well represent the sentiments of many other youngsoldiers who served in the Second World War" (p. 17).

Upon examination of the letters themselves, they do appear to revealmore than just the superficial correspondence of a child to his parents.Alongside the expected mundane descriptions of daily military life andlaundry lists of requested items, Gerhard also writes, with a startlingsense of maturity, about how it feels to spend Christmas away from home,and how he regrets having taken his mother's "thoughtful care" forgranted while living at home (p. 46, 65). Because the collection seemsto be almost entirely complete, it is possible to observe changes inGerhard's personality through his writing style. Most remarkable are hisgrowing sense of awareness of what is happening around him, and hisdeveloping understanding of what home means to him (p. 80, 101).

Cape's introduction offers a wealth of ideas about ways the letters canbe interpreted. She answers many of the questions that surround acollection of German letters from World War II; for example, questionsregarding censorship (both internal and external) and the writer'spossible identification with Nazi ideals. She also provides usefulbackground statistics, such as that there were "approximately 400military post offices with eighteen workers per office who handledaround 40 billion letters during the six years of the war" (p. 11). Thestructure of the edition is simple, with a lengthy introduction followedby the transcribed letters first in English and then in their originalGerman.

One major strength of the edition is Cape's inclusion of a variety ofsuggested approaches for further study of this particular collection ofletters. She purports that they could be used to explore sociologicalthemes like "family and friendship dynamics during war times," or thecultural history of a nation (p. 17). Her emphasis on asking questionsrather than answering them gives the reader a chance to consider his orher own ideas about how Feldpost can contribute to modern historicalresearch. In a brief departure from strict academics, she even suggeststhat Gerhard's letters could serve as the basis of a piece ofliterature, diary, or short epistolary novel: "A reader with an interestin creative writing may use his Feldpost as the basis for composingletters to which Gerhard might have responded. What is written in themail sent to him is a question that constantly arises while one readshis lines" (p. 19).

In the introduction, Cape outlines her principles of translation,stating that she seeks "to be as literal and exact as is consistent withreadable English" (p. 20). But many of the translations are ratherdisconcerting in their directness, preserving German punctuation evenwhere incorrect in English (p. 30, 40, 76). Knowledge of the Germanlanguage is helpful for getting a feel for Gerhard's style in thetranslations; someone without that knowledge might find the odd wordorder and strange punctuation distracting.

Despite the occasionally dubious translations, the English section ofthe edition makes for an interesting read at the very least because ofits numerous explanatory footnotes. The footnotes contain helpfulclarifications for abbreviations, places, people, and especially unclearsituations that arise in the letters. In one letter, Gerhard alludes toa situation involving Russian prisoners of war, telling his parents theycan draw their own conclusions from the incident (p. 69). In thecorresponding footnote, Cape clarifies the meaning of the exchange,concluding that, "As a member of the student anti-aircraft artillery (inGerman, Luftwaffenhelfer or Flakhelfer) one was ranked below thoseRussian voluntary assistants" (p. 123).

Both "Schreiben im Krieg, Schreiben vom Krieg" and "Youth at War" offerextensive information on the current stance of research regardingFeldpost letters and can guide readers to a better understanding of thischallenging but exciting genre of primary sources. While recognizing thelimitations that Feldpost letters present, the editors of both volumesgenerally emphasize their role in the study of the wartime experiencesof common soldiers in World Wars I and II. Few would argue today thatFeldpost letters are truly authentic accounts of individual lives.Ultimately, however, it is critical to remember that every collection ofletters may be examined within the greater context of the genre, butmust be evaluated on an individual basis. Certain letters may only beable to reflect the effectiveness of propaganda or the letter-writingconventions of their times, while others may hold the potential tobecome "partially a mirror of a historical time period" (Cape, p. 6).And because of their mystery, their banality, and above all theirpossibility, Feldpost letters will likely remain a heavily debated genreamong historians and academics in the years to come.

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